A fifth of all consumer waste created by the London 2012 Olympic Games will be recycled in Lincolnshire.

The feat has been made possible by the opening of the world's largest plastics recycling centre in Hemswell, north of Lincoln.

Environment Minister Lord Taylor unveiled an extension to the existing Eco Plastics site on Thursday, May 10.

The £15 million venture is the result of a partnership between the county firm and Coca-Cola.

Bottles dropped at the opening ceremony of the Olympics will be recycled at the Continuum Recycling facility.

Bosses say the groundbreaking factory could return up to 20 million bottles to the shelves inside the six weeks of the Games.

The opening has created 30 new jobs in a rural area once used as a front-line RAF base.

Eco Plastics has secured a ten-year deal with the soft drinks giant.

Coca-Cola Enterprises head of sustainability, Katherine Symonds, said: "We have had special bins made for the games which will bear our logo and be used for the collection of all the plastic bottles at the huge event this summer.

"A fifth of the waste created by the games will be recycled here and bottles dropped at the main opening ceremony could well be back on supermarket shelves as new bottles before the Paralympics have finished."

Lord Taylor explained the plant was a big step forward for the UK recycling industry.

"This facility is the result of an innovative partnership which is a first for the British drinks manufacturing industry," he said.

The Continuum Recycling project was completed on time and on budget.

The launch event was a landmark for Eco Plastics' managing director Jonathan Short.

"It demonstrates the strategic value of long-term partnerships," he said.

Continuum Recycling will save around 33,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year for the next decade.

So not only are we expected to pay heavily with increased taxes, reduced benefits, etc. for an event few of us will be able to see or benefit from in any way - they are going to dump their rubbish on us!